Reflections of Me : The National Emergency That Wasn't
Well, here we go again, folk. After months of distractions, inane and insane twitter posts, a partial government shutdown lasting over a month, and a seemingly paralyzed GOP-led Senate, President Trump finally admitted he was not going to get his border wall money from Congress. Rather than admit defeat, however, he accepted Congress's latest offer to keep the government operating and declared the border a National Emergency. Which of course it isn't, but, he has never let facts get in the way of trying to get what he wants. If he is successful, and of course he brags he and his staff are willing to take it all the way the the Supreme Court, he can take government funds allocated for other programs and use it to pay for constructing new border fencing.
That this comes at a time when the results of his and the GOP's tax law changes are coming into focus ( as most of America knew it would ) makes it even more interesting. Some American taxpayers are discovering to their dismay that the extra money they saw in 2018 from paycheck to paycheck was going to have to be made up somehow, especially in light of the further tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Many of us with decades of work experience, who had been through similar tax changes in the past, tried to give warning, but apparently many didn't believe it. Sure, it's complicated, but, one can simplify it to some measure.
The government needs money to operate, just as every citizen needs money to operate. As citizens, we primarily get our money from employment. There are other programs as well, but these are funded by government. Government gets it's money from taxes. Just as a citizen must do their best to fit necessities such as housing, utilities, and food into what they make, the government has the same basic needs, with several additions, such as the military. As costs increase, the need for more income increases. Tax money that has already been budgeted still needs to be provided. If the Congress okays a tax cut in withholding, that will obviously affect the amount the government has to use for programs already budgeted come end of the tax year. So, what the GOP tax cuts accomplished was to decrease the amount withheld from paychecks but at the same time adjusted the tax laws come end of tax year to take away many of the deductions taxpayers had been used to claiming. The result has been smaller refunds than taxpayers are used to getting and in some cases taxpayers owing money they had never owed before. Meaning, of course, that instead of enjoying the few extra dollars on one's paycheck, one should have changed one's withholding so more money was withheld. Tricky, that, as most of us have no idea what tax law changes have been made that affect us.
But, that is how it works. Complicate the issue by reducing the amounts received from wealthy taxpayers to as low as $0, you have a situation where the difference has to be made up. Guess where that difference comes from? Give ya 3 guesses ; first 2 don't count. Now, further complicate the issue by government needing new approval bills for spending, and a President who wants a additional $5 billion to help pay for a needless border wall, and you begin to see where we end up.
Half of Congress was willing to give him money for increased border security ( a necessary item ) but not for more wall. Rather than accept the compromise, and listen to his advisers on how the money could be best used, he chose instead his usual path to play drama queen and attempt to distract and mislead the public with insane rhetoric, insults, fabricated numbers, and blame games. Meanwhile, the government reopens and taxpayers begin the filing of their returns and get nasty surprises. Surprises which should not have been surprising, but many found them so.
So, finally, another compromise is reached. The President is given almost 2/5 of what he asked for to build more wall. Not happy, he accepts the deal but immediately declares a National Emergency at the Southern Border. That the reasoning for this doesn't even come close to being a National Emergency does not faze him. He uses the term 'invasion' -- there is none, never was. He then asserts drug trafficking along 'unprotected' sections of the border. He has a slightly stronger footing here, until you obtain even a modicum of the truth about illegal drug trafficking. The numbers for this are nearly impossible to quantify, but it is known that the trafficking of illegal drugs into -- and out of -- this country is done via all borders, and predominantly at legal points of entry. The truth of the matter in regards illegal drug trafficking is that, for every route that is caught, there are likely 2 to 10 more that aren't. Certainly some of these are along the Southern Border, but, they are also along the western, eastern, and northern borders. These, however, do not seem as important to this administration.
He likes to repeat the phrase 'walls work'. He cites few examples, but one he likes is equating walls with prisons. Okay, bad example I think. Prison walls are meant to keep people IN, not OUT. Yet, illegal drug activity still gets into them, so, just how effective is that? How many occurrences of anyone trying to break into a prison have occurred? Another I have frequently heard : why do wealthy property owners build walls around their property? Well, let me examine that. The building of a wall around your property does not keep people out. Unless you also pay for alarms and patrols along those walls. Otherwise, those walls are simply a inconvenience ; if one has reason enough to get past them, it is easily accomplished. And has been. Repeatedly. Even with added security.
So, if you build more border wall -- a healthy expense in itself -- it is simply a inconvenience waiting to be overcome. Unless you are willing to also spend the money for extra personnel, alarms and cameras, new technology, and regular maintenance. This is not a one time event ; it will be a ongoing expense that presents challenges even beyond the capability of current understanding. Not to mention the potential damage it might cause in relations to other Nations south of us. Illegal immigration is down, yet, the current system is so poorly supervised and maintained it cannot keep up even at legal ports of entry. Adding miles of wall will do nothing to improve that.
Yet, even with all that, there is nowhere near any National Emergency at the southern border. There is no devastation, even implied. There is no invasion. There is a humanitarian crisis, but it is created because our current system is poorly maintained and supervised, not through any fault of refugees and immigrants. However, the President can try to declare it so, and he has done that. Checks and balances exist to prevent such abuse, but this administration and the Congress up to the mid term elections have chosen to blunt or even negate the ability of our elected officials to use such checks and balances. The current Congress is no longer restrained by such shortsightedness, but the changes made may not be strong enough to thwart this. It is up to the people, you and I, to let it be known that enough is enough. That we welcome change, but done in a manner consistent with Constitutional Law and the vision of of the founders of this country. Change should reflect progress, should reflect solid leadership, should reflect intelligence and common sense, and above all a willingness to lead in the principles of humanitarianism and not a regression into anarchy, ignorance, poverty, and disease.
As usual, if you have made it this far, I salute you! I make no claim to being a good writer nor even communicator, I simply voice my opinions to keep myself from going completely batshit crazy. Pat yourself on the back, hope you perhaps found something to smile about, and until next time, this is Chicken Little, signing off.
That this comes at a time when the results of his and the GOP's tax law changes are coming into focus ( as most of America knew it would ) makes it even more interesting. Some American taxpayers are discovering to their dismay that the extra money they saw in 2018 from paycheck to paycheck was going to have to be made up somehow, especially in light of the further tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Many of us with decades of work experience, who had been through similar tax changes in the past, tried to give warning, but apparently many didn't believe it. Sure, it's complicated, but, one can simplify it to some measure.
The government needs money to operate, just as every citizen needs money to operate. As citizens, we primarily get our money from employment. There are other programs as well, but these are funded by government. Government gets it's money from taxes. Just as a citizen must do their best to fit necessities such as housing, utilities, and food into what they make, the government has the same basic needs, with several additions, such as the military. As costs increase, the need for more income increases. Tax money that has already been budgeted still needs to be provided. If the Congress okays a tax cut in withholding, that will obviously affect the amount the government has to use for programs already budgeted come end of the tax year. So, what the GOP tax cuts accomplished was to decrease the amount withheld from paychecks but at the same time adjusted the tax laws come end of tax year to take away many of the deductions taxpayers had been used to claiming. The result has been smaller refunds than taxpayers are used to getting and in some cases taxpayers owing money they had never owed before. Meaning, of course, that instead of enjoying the few extra dollars on one's paycheck, one should have changed one's withholding so more money was withheld. Tricky, that, as most of us have no idea what tax law changes have been made that affect us.
But, that is how it works. Complicate the issue by reducing the amounts received from wealthy taxpayers to as low as $0, you have a situation where the difference has to be made up. Guess where that difference comes from? Give ya 3 guesses ; first 2 don't count. Now, further complicate the issue by government needing new approval bills for spending, and a President who wants a additional $5 billion to help pay for a needless border wall, and you begin to see where we end up.
Half of Congress was willing to give him money for increased border security ( a necessary item ) but not for more wall. Rather than accept the compromise, and listen to his advisers on how the money could be best used, he chose instead his usual path to play drama queen and attempt to distract and mislead the public with insane rhetoric, insults, fabricated numbers, and blame games. Meanwhile, the government reopens and taxpayers begin the filing of their returns and get nasty surprises. Surprises which should not have been surprising, but many found them so.
So, finally, another compromise is reached. The President is given almost 2/5 of what he asked for to build more wall. Not happy, he accepts the deal but immediately declares a National Emergency at the Southern Border. That the reasoning for this doesn't even come close to being a National Emergency does not faze him. He uses the term 'invasion' -- there is none, never was. He then asserts drug trafficking along 'unprotected' sections of the border. He has a slightly stronger footing here, until you obtain even a modicum of the truth about illegal drug trafficking. The numbers for this are nearly impossible to quantify, but it is known that the trafficking of illegal drugs into -- and out of -- this country is done via all borders, and predominantly at legal points of entry. The truth of the matter in regards illegal drug trafficking is that, for every route that is caught, there are likely 2 to 10 more that aren't. Certainly some of these are along the Southern Border, but, they are also along the western, eastern, and northern borders. These, however, do not seem as important to this administration.
He likes to repeat the phrase 'walls work'. He cites few examples, but one he likes is equating walls with prisons. Okay, bad example I think. Prison walls are meant to keep people IN, not OUT. Yet, illegal drug activity still gets into them, so, just how effective is that? How many occurrences of anyone trying to break into a prison have occurred? Another I have frequently heard : why do wealthy property owners build walls around their property? Well, let me examine that. The building of a wall around your property does not keep people out. Unless you also pay for alarms and patrols along those walls. Otherwise, those walls are simply a inconvenience ; if one has reason enough to get past them, it is easily accomplished. And has been. Repeatedly. Even with added security.
So, if you build more border wall -- a healthy expense in itself -- it is simply a inconvenience waiting to be overcome. Unless you are willing to also spend the money for extra personnel, alarms and cameras, new technology, and regular maintenance. This is not a one time event ; it will be a ongoing expense that presents challenges even beyond the capability of current understanding. Not to mention the potential damage it might cause in relations to other Nations south of us. Illegal immigration is down, yet, the current system is so poorly supervised and maintained it cannot keep up even at legal ports of entry. Adding miles of wall will do nothing to improve that.
Yet, even with all that, there is nowhere near any National Emergency at the southern border. There is no devastation, even implied. There is no invasion. There is a humanitarian crisis, but it is created because our current system is poorly maintained and supervised, not through any fault of refugees and immigrants. However, the President can try to declare it so, and he has done that. Checks and balances exist to prevent such abuse, but this administration and the Congress up to the mid term elections have chosen to blunt or even negate the ability of our elected officials to use such checks and balances. The current Congress is no longer restrained by such shortsightedness, but the changes made may not be strong enough to thwart this. It is up to the people, you and I, to let it be known that enough is enough. That we welcome change, but done in a manner consistent with Constitutional Law and the vision of of the founders of this country. Change should reflect progress, should reflect solid leadership, should reflect intelligence and common sense, and above all a willingness to lead in the principles of humanitarianism and not a regression into anarchy, ignorance, poverty, and disease.
As usual, if you have made it this far, I salute you! I make no claim to being a good writer nor even communicator, I simply voice my opinions to keep myself from going completely batshit crazy. Pat yourself on the back, hope you perhaps found something to smile about, and until next time, this is Chicken Little, signing off.
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